Beekeepers blame pesticides for bee deaths

David Schuit, an organic farmer from Hanover Ontario and his son Caleb 8, display an empty honeycomb frame from one of the beehives located in a bee yard behind the family home on Friday June 08, 2012. (JAMES MASTERS /QMI Agency)

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OTTAWA -- Times have been tough for beekeepers and it's been no exception for David Schuit.

The Ontario apiarist was getting used to losing some bees each year, but he never imagined he'd witness the devastation of May 24 - an inch-and-a-half thick of dead honeybees covering some three feet of lawn in front of each of the hives in his home yard.

"I don't know if I'm going to get a crop this year," he said. "We take great pride in selling our own honey at the market. And people love our honey. But it's pretty hard to get honey when the bees are dead."

By his count, the beekeeper in Elmwood, Ont., has lost 90% of the bees in his home yard -- where he breeds the hardy and gentle line of Buckfast honeybees - and 50% of the bees in the rest of his 1,000 colonies, up to 50 million of the insects so far.

About five years ago, Western beekeepers began reporting unprecedented winter losses in their hives. Apiaries in the United States were hit hardest, with some beekeepers reporting up to 90% of their bees dying off. Canada emerged with the healthiest bees, with producers losing up to 30% each year.

Dubbed colony collapse disorder, the decline has been linked to the parasitic Varroa mite, the Nosema parasite and a tricky combination of environmental factors.

But Schuit and beekeeping colleagues who appeared before the Commons agriculture committee this week say the deaths this spring are different.

"The workers, when they're exposed to this chemical, it paralyzes the bees. They're still living but they're dying, and they're in agony. The legs kicking, the tongue sticking out. Even the stinger sticks out and venom drops out. They just can't control their bodies."

The beekeepers are worried neo-nicotinoid pesticides -- used extensively on corn crops -- are linked to the poisonings. And while the evidence isn't conclusive, France, Italy, Germany and Slovenia have all restricted use of those pesticides in a bid to protect pollinating insects.

In the U.S., research is underway into the link between pesticides and pollinators.

The federal government has left the care of Canada's honeybees largely to the provinces, but the Canadian Honey Council is now calling on Ottawa to step in and help form a working group made up of government, the agriculture industry and beekeepers to investigate the events and find a solution.

The council also says federal programs that help farmers when they have crop failures aren't suited to beekeepers, while apiaries say insurance doesn't cover chemical-related losses.

Last year, apparent bee poisonings affected a few Quebec apiaries. This year the council estimates it touched a 200 km radius in Ontario.

Health Canada has tested the dead bees from Ontario and found neo-nicotinoid pesticides on 28 of 37 samples, but says more screening needs to be done before it can pinpoint the cause of death.

Schuit doesn't know what the future holds for his 30-year-old honey business, which he had plans to expand.

"We had great hopes and then you see the bees come out dead," Schuit said. "It's humbling."

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